Overview & Objectives
Moet-Hennessy wanted to get a better understanding of the needs and motivations of consumers during outdoor/daytime drinking occasions. Though they had a fairly defined product concept to evaluate, they wanted to collaborate with the target audience to develop the ideal product experience in a truly consumer-centric way.
MROC Approach
PluggedIN ran a market research online community with a targeted group of 60 participants from across the US. We worked closely with the consumers through a series of moderator-led discussions, surveys and photo sharing activities to iteratively refine the concepts and develop a final concept that was truly in-line with identified consumer needs.
Result
Moet-Hennessy was able to identify specific ways to make their new beverage concept more approachable, vibrant and versatile, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the audience. In addition, the approach was done in a fraction of the time and at nearly half the expense of other qualitative research methodologies.
Overview & Objectives
While Dell regularly conducts qualitative and quantitative market studies to understand dynamics of the customer experience, they had yet to fully track the experience of a customer purchasing a computer - from the very initial research and selection stages through to purchase and post-purchase support experiences.
MROC Approach
To help Dell get an in-depth look at the customer experience from front to back as it unfolded, PluggedIN setup two small communities of approximately 25 participants each over the course of 6 months. One community consisted entirely of consumers who were in the act of researching and purchasing a computer, while a separate community consisted of SMB owners and decision makers who were responsible for making technology purchases in their organization. To ensure we had a complete grasp of the experience, the communities were combined with an in-person ethnography study with the same participants from the community.
Results
The community helped Dell see the purchase and post-purchase customer experience in an entirely different light, and allowed stakeholders to make improvements to the online purchase and support experience in light of the findings.
Overview & Objectives
Kraft's Capri Sun and Kool-Aid brands had reams of survey data on beverage consumption among kids, but still struggled to get a true understanding of what their target segments were like and how their tastes were evolving over time.
MROC Approach
PluggedIN and youth consultants JustKid Inc. worked together with Kraft to build a highly customized research experience for kids that would help keep kids engaged in the research process, while providing continuous access to insights for Kraft. Navigating the tricky waters of COPPA regulations and general research industry guidelines for researching youth audiences, we built a custom research community complete with games, fun profile pages and polls. The community experience ensured the site was "sticky" and encouraged repeat visits, while still providing value data on an ongoing basis.
Results
At over 18 months running and still going, the BevLab continues to provide Kraft with a unique perspective on the targeted youth audience. Frequent testing of new ad campaigns has provided additional value for Kraft above the initial expectations for the community.
Overview & Objectives
T-Mobile had a hit device in the Sidekick, but needed to better understand what these Sidekick users were really like and how the device fit into their highly connected and "on the go" lifestyles.
MROC Approach
To help keep a finger on the pulse of this audience and inform the development of future versions of the Sidekick, PluggedIN built a custom, ongoing market research online community for T-Mobile. The community consisted of approximately 150 targeted Sidekick users who were invited to participate in weekly activities around a range of topics, from how they use the device to brainstorming ideas for future features and upgrades. PluggedIN's team of community moderators facilitated the conversation and prepared reports for T-Mobile that helped fuel decision making.
Results
With the insights that emerged from the community, T-Mobile was able to develop future versions of the Sidekick that took into account the needs of this important target audience. The findings also provided ideas into communications themes that resonate with the Sidekick target audience.